Designated
as world heritage site in 1987, Elephanta Caves, near Mumbai in
Maharashtra, is a beloved tourist island. It is barely 10 km away from
the Gateway of India at Mumbai. Rock cut temples belonging to 5th
century CE are the main attractions of these caves. Portuguese named the
island as the Elephanta island after the masonry elephant that guards
the landing area of the island. The rock cut temples here have rich
sculpture and are dedicated to Lord Shiva. One can reach the Elephanta
Caves by hiring a motorboat from Apollo Bunder near the Gateway of
India. The temples, columns, idols and space were all constructed by
carving out rocks like a huge sculpture, where unwanted pieces and
chunks of rock were removed to reveal the temple. The rock surfaces
range form highly finished ones to untreated and bare ones.The cave temple complex sprawls across about 60,000 square feet and consists of a main chamber flanked by two lateral chambers, courtyards and many shrines. One can enter it from thee sides - the entrance on the east and the west marks the axis of the temple. On the western end of the hall with twenty pillars with fluted columns, cushion capitals and square bases, is the shrine sporting a Shivalingam. The giant image of Trimurthi Sadasiva is 20-ft high and is quite magnificent. It is said to be of Panchamukha Shiva (Shiva with five faces) but only three faces are visible on the wall mural and attracts immediate attention when one enters from the North. The southern wall sports images of deities such as Kalyanasundara, Gangadhara, Ardhanariswara and Uma Maheswara, while other notable sculpture deities are Nataraja, Andhakaasuravadamoorthy, Yogiswara and Ravanaanugrahamurthy.
